Free Fury (New Adult Romance) - #1.5 Fierce Series by Clarissa Wild Page A

little geek
ready to be pulled into the real world. Maybe I can help her with that.
    Or maybe I shouldn’t.
    What am I even thinking? I don’t want to involve her in my life. No,
not like this.
    Her friend pokes her, and they return to talking, so I look away.
Then I notice Jaret standing outside the fence with a bunch of guys. I assume
it’s the gang, because they all look shady as hell.
    Guess this is it.
    I shake off the excess nerves and walk toward the fence, making sure
I’m as inconspicuous as possible.
    “Hey,” I say.
    Jaret leans forward. “You gotta buy the goods off them. You’ll use
this in the fight.”
    Shit, guess that means it’ll have to come from my own pocket this
time. They want me to buy my own drugs that I’ll have to use later. Assholes.
    Another guy with slick hair and shades leans forward, pulling
something out of his pocket for only a short moment, showing me he has a
satchel filled with green crap. Probably the pot.
    “Where’s the money?” he asks.
    Sighing, I rummage in my pocket and take it out carefully, making
sure nobody sees me doing this. I don’t want to get caught.
    Our exchange is lightning-quick, and the moment the satchel hits the
bottom of my pocket I feel nervous. I don’t like walking around with drugs, but
I have to do this. I have to earn the gang’s trust.
    “Cool.” The guys turn around and Jaret walks with them after giving
me a wave and a thumbs-up.
    My fingers tremble as I reach down into my pocket, feeling the drugs
push against my thigh. It’s disgusting, and it makes me sick to my stomach
knowing I’ll have to take them. Only now do I realize the full extent of what
I’m doing, what I’m getting myself into. This is for real. There is no going
back.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter
8
    Scheming
     
    I’m pacing up and down in my room, trying to figure out what to do.
My brain and heart are locked in a battle between what’s wrong and right, and I
don’t know which one is going to win.
    I’ve barely slept at all since I joined the gang. Images of a needle
being stuck in my arm while I’m tied to a chair haunt my dreams. The bag of
weed lying on my table has never left my thoughts. Every fiber in my body is
telling me not to do it, but sheer will is forcing me to continue. I need to save my brother. He will be freed. I cling to this single thought.
    Suddenly my new phone rings with a melody I’m not familiar with yet.
I hate new phones. However, this phone call is probably important. I rush to it
like it’s the last connection I have with life.
    “Hello?”
    “Come downstairs to the yard. I have the specifics.” It’s Jaret, and
he sounds serious.
    “All right. Be right there.”
    I put my phone back into my pocket and hurry downstairs and out of the
dorm. Jaret’s standing with the same group of guys we met on my first day on campus.
Wes is one of them.
    Straightening my back, I stride toward them.
    “Glad you could make it,” Wes says.
    “I came down as soon as I got the phone call. So, what do you want
me to do?” I say with a confident tone.
    “We loaned a guy some money. We want our money back, and since we
didn’t get it in time, we want you to send a message.”
    “Okay,” I say, feeling bad already. “Who?”
    “That guy,” Wes says, and he points at a guy with a beanie near the
fountain.
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “You know …” Jaret says, squinting.
    Right. Beat him up. I nod.
    “You want your money back, right?” I say.
    “Yes, but not before you give him a good whooping.”
    “What? You won’t even give him a chance to redeem himself?” I say.
    Wes spits on the ground. “That motherfucker had his chance. You’ll
kick his ass, and then take the money. It’s a lesson he has to learn.”
    I frown, drawing in a deep breath. “Okay.”
    “You’ll take the drugs before the fight,” Wes says.
    I raise an eyebrow. “What?”
    “You heard him,” one of the other guys says, but Wes puts his hand
firmly on the